Preach the Gospel

Lately I have been speaking the Word to more and more people and I’ve been finding myself falling into a trap, a trap I have made for myself. My intention is to bring them to God and show them how to live a more than abundant life, but I am finding that my approach, my pickup line, usually leads me to talking about the Word.

What could possibly be wrong with talking about the Word? What harm could be done in talking about the Word, the words of God? The problem is that it is not what’s about the Word of God that delivers a man or woman from the dark night of the soul. It isn’t what’s about the Word that makes a man saved from the Wrath to come. It is what’s in the Word that does this. It is what is in the Word that leads a man in the paths of righteousness and to the way of salvation. It is what is in the Word that leads a man to Christ.

All too often I would begin a normal conversation with someone and it would lead to the question, “What do you do?” When posed to me I could say, “Oh, I help run a Christian leadership program,” followed by what we teach. I would speak of the many aspects of study we employ to develop a better understanding of such a foreign and ancient book. I would talk of figures of speech, oriental idioms and culture, and some of the critical nuances of the the Greek and Hebrew languages but something was always missing.

If you look in the Book of Acts at what the apostles spoke to unbelievers, whether Jew or Gentile, you will see a unifying subject that permeates what they spoke. Even Jesus spoke of it. They spoke of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But what is this Gospel? In the Greek language that the apostles spoke and wrote, the word “gospel” is not used to mean the four books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The word “gospel” is a compound word meaning “good news.” So when we read the word “gospel” in the Bible we need to understand it as the Good News Concerning Jesus Christ.

If the apostles, sent by God, speaking the words of God, spoke of the Good News of Jesus Christ, then shouldn’t we? If what they spoke was so powerful – and it was – then who am I to deviate from that message? It worked then and it will work now. We must speak the wonderful works of God. We must herald forth the good things that came to be in Jesus’ death and resurrection. He did die. He is risen! In him our sins are forgiven. He has made available a life more than abundant. This dying world needs to know. If we beat around the bush they won’t. Preach the Gospel.